The MoCaF (Mobile Careers – Mobile Families) research project is led by Prof. Dr. Marcel Erlinghagen and Dr. Lisa Mansfeld from the University of Duisburg-Essen. The project is part of the German Research Foundation (DFG)-funded Research Training Group “Cross-Border Labor Markets”, which is co-organized by the University of Duisburg-Essen and the University of Bielefeld. The project is supported by Wiebke Anton, PhD, and Rhoda Bangerter, who, among other things, jointly organize the online initiative “Expat Couples Summit”. The survey of internationally mobile people is conducted in cooperation with the Institute for Social Research & Communication (SOKO) in Bielefeld.

​​​​

For many people from the affluent societies of Europe or North America, international mobility has become an experience they make in the course of their lives. This includes exchange programs at school and university, as well as longer-term assignments abroad on behalf of employers or careers in international organizations. International mobility poses particular challenges for families and partnerships, but it can also provide unique opportunities for personal development and enriching experiences for those involved. The MoCaF research project is interested in learning more about precisely this interplay: How do couples plan and organize their stay abroad? What conflicts, but also what opportunities, are associated with international mobility? How do families manage to cope with living in different places, in different cultures, and under changing conditions? By surveying internationally mobile people, we aim to use the MoCaF project to contribute to answering these research questions, which have received little attention to date.

The data subject to evaluation in the project will be obtained through an online survey of internationally mobile individuals. The project will use a mixed-methods approach. The online questionnaire consists largely of standardized instruments, but also contains some open-ended questions. By analytically and interpretatively linking the results obtained with quantitative and qualitative methods, we hope to gain deeper insights into the complex mobility-family-career arrangements of internationally mobile people. The questionnaire is available in both German and English.